1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to vehicles and limit switches and, more particularly, to a limit switch for application in test vehicles which experience extreme road conditions.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the field of vehicle testing, it is often necessary to expose vehicles to extreme road conditions using specially-designed test tracks and facilities in order to expedite durability testing. Many of these vehicle are driven by computer-controlled robots because road conditions are often severe and would not provide a comfortable ride for a human driver. To successfully implement the robotically driven vehicles, many of the robot actuators include limit switches in order to determine the limits of travel for the accelerator, service brake, shifter, and the like.
Because the severe road conditions result in severe road inputs and extreme load and vibration conditions, present limit switches do not provide the desired durability or reliability for such applications. Further, present limit switches are of limited use because of actuator travel speeds, space requirements, and adjustment constraints presented by durability vehicles outfitted with robot drivers.
Thus, it is desirable to provide a limit switch which withstands severe road conditions and in which the actuator limits may be varied in accordance with the specific application.